Saturday Morning Musings

 Good Saturday Morning!  I'm sorry I didn't get around to posting anything yesterday for Friday Fotos. I had some in mind, but my body got too busy doing other things and never got around to sitting down long enough to share what was in my mind. LOL.  Hope that makes sense!  Sometimes my mind has a mind of its own.

Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post.  I don't always reply to your comments because I have found that most of us don't really ever come back to check and see if there is a reply or not, and I can't always figure out how to reply via email...my computer tends to get confused when I try to go from blogger to email and it takes forever and by that time we've all moved on to the next thing. But I always cherish your comments and love hearing from you.  Instead of replying on my post, I try to go and visit you at your place and enjoy reading whatever you are writing about and leave a comment there.  One way or the other we all communicate, and it is a blessing to have you in my life!

So, let's see, what's been going on?  Well, not really a whole lot, just keeping busy...but last night we had a little scare again in the wildlife kingdom...the Sand Hill Crane parents showed up at our back porch alone, and calling and calling for their "baby", "Trumpet".  I thought, "Oh no! Not again!"  I went outside and commiserated with them over the loss of their colt, who is now almost as big as they are and shouldn't be that hard to lose. I threw them a little bit of birdseed and they forgot about calling frantically for their child and started eating. I thought that was a bit strange...I know if my child was lost I wouldn't be distracted by food until I'd found my lost child.  But they stopped calling for him and stood there and ate up the bird seed and then flew away.   I was the only one who appeared to be grieving, so instead of getting all worked up, I decided to just pray that "Trumpet" was somewhere safe and we'd wait and see if he showed up later.    

Actually this picture were taken the night before as they all three walked around on "Goose Island" for an evening stroll.  But later last evening, just as the sun was going down, I looked out across the pond, and I finally could see "Trumpet" standing  there with his mother,  safe and sound!   I don't know where he'd been before when they were calling him, but somehow they must've figured out that he was okay and they were able to take a few minutes to eat before they went to join him.  Maybe they heard a little call responding back to them that I couldn't hear...you know how a parent can hear their child's cry above all the noise of others? That may be what happened.  Either way, I am very thankful to know that they were all back together again and safe and sound as the sun was going down and they were settling in for the night.

OH! Here's a picture taken this morning as they came up to say Good Morning to us! Yep, Trumpet is just fine!

I am thankful that our Heavenly Father always hears us when we call Him...and then we can lie down and sleep in safety and peace, knowing that He is taking care of us...

Psalm 4 NKJV

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness

And seek falsehood? Selah

3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;

The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

4 Be angry, and do not sin.

Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

And put your trust in the Lord.

6 There are many who say,

“Who will show us any good?”

Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

7 You have put gladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Speaking of "lying down in peace, and sleep..."  Looks like Sunshine is able to do just that:

This was him on the back porch the other afternoon...such a good kitty, abiding by all the "Porch Rules". LOL.

Here's Sunshine earlier...the fearless hunter ...

And here is Blackie Sue, in her favorite hideaway on the front porch. She feels very safe on that little shelf under the wicker table.  I've noticed that when she feels threatened by anything, like that neighborhood "bully" Tuxedo cat who likes to come and eat their food, she always jumps on this little shelf and feels safe. And then she often just sleeps there for the rest of the afternoon...Her eyes are at half/mast here because I think I woke her up from a nap.  And NO, she still hasn't had any kittens...time will tell, but I am becoming more and more convinced that this may be a "false pregnancy". 

Last night our kiddos came over and brought our Grandpuppies, Sugar and Spice.  So of course there was a lot of commotion from the pups over who was on the front porch...but Sunshine and Blackie Sue just ignored them. Blackie Sue was in her little hiding place on the table, so you can't see her, but the pups knew she was there and they really wanted to go out and play with them so badly! LOL.

Golly, have you noticed that my posts have gone to the dogs and cats lately?  I hope you don't mind...we write about whatever is going on in our lives, and this is what is going on! LOL.

I guess I'd better get a move on. We are going to go to the Deep Creek Farmer's Market today,  where Benton will be selling some more wooden planters and some new stuff he's created. I will probably have some pictures from there later. So maybe I'll just wait and finish this later...

Okay, I'm back!  We went to the Farmer's Market, and here's a few pictures of some things that caught my attention: 

A couple of cute goats...the lady selling the goats also makes Goat Milk Soap, which is something I  use all the time, just not from her.  But I like to keep up with other vendors who sell it in case my lady quits making it.

I bought a Lemon Blueberry Scone to eat later with a cup of tea.  I love scones and they are best with tea, although the vendor selling these was there from a coffee shop and they didn't have any tea! What's up with that?  Someone needs to educate them on the fine art of tea and scones! LOL.

I also bought a couple of large tomatoes. I much prefer to buy tomatoes at a farm market than at the grocery store. These have to ripen a bit, but that shouldn't take too long...

And the main attraction was this guy:  Yep, that's our son with his wonderful wood planters that he makes and sells.  Hubby is inspecting things in the background. LOL.

I know this is meant to be a special chair for holding potted plants, but I called it the "potty chair". LOL

Pretty little planter  box/steps design:

Some other cute little planter stands:

This is a cute hanging "porch swing" planter:

And this is his latest design,  a cute hanging house planter!  I love it! I hope he saves one for me!

I hope he has a good day of sales!

Well folks, I guess that's all for now. I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday wherever you are. It looks like a warm and sunny day here, but we sure do need rain.

Deuteronomy 11:13-15

13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 

14 then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 

15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’

May it be so, Lord. Especially for those in areas of great drought and some who are battling forest fires even as we speak. Amen.

Tuesday Blessings

 Since there is no Tuesday 4 today I thought I would get caught up with pictures and things happening around here since the last time I wrote!  

Little by little we are getting things prepared at our house for Easter...

Lily Grace and her dog Bailey are dressed for Easter and excited about how special this week really is.

Lily was especially excited when she found out that these beautiful flowers are called "Easter Lilies"!!

She said, "I'm also an Easter Lily, because I'm all dressed up in my Easter dress and my name is Lily!"

Yes, I guess that's true, Lily! And your name, "Lily Grace", is also all about Easter, because Easter is really all about the Grace of God...His "unmerited favor" towards us...we do not deserve God's grace and salvation...it is a free gift to any who will believe!

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

8 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, 

it is the gift of God— 

9 not by works, so that no one can boast."

So yes, Lily Grace, you are a true "Easter Lily"!

So moving along to other things happening so far this week...last night our "kids" came over and brought pizzas for supper!  We had a good time "doctoring  up" a couple of good frozen supreme pizzas and baking them here. We've decided we like that better than ordering from Dominos.  And of course they brought our sweet grandpuppies Sugar and Spice along.

Since we've had to feed the kitties on the front porch now, the kids had to come in through the back door and not let the puppies see the kitties on the front porch. However, it didn't take long for them to discover them out there through the front window:

Talk about squealing, noisiy, excited puppies! Oh my goodness! They wanted to go out there SO bad and see those cats!! Blackie Sue and Sunshine just stared back at them as if to say, "You can't get us! We're safe out here and you're in there and you can't get us!!"   I'm afraid my window blinds will never be the same again. LOL.

I can only imagine what it's going to be like when the kittens finally arrive, which, NO, they have not arrived as of yet.

And, isn't it funny how the puppies get all excited watching the cats, and the cat loves to watch the Sand Hill Cranes from her perch on the back porch...

Look how tall Trumpet has gotten!!  He literally grows at least an inch every day! Or so it seems.

Blackie Sue loves to watch them, but she knows better than to get too close. That mother Crane would definitely let her know that she wasn't welcome, and it wouldn't be pleasant.

I expect Blackie Sue will feel the same way about her babies when they arrive.  That mother instinct is very strong in all of God's creatures...even we human mothers...right?

Oh, this Pileated Woodpecker couple flew back in the other day to peck away at that pine tree.  I wonder if they are nesting somewhere around here. We don't often get to see a pair of them together, so this is a real treat!

They certainly are interesting looking creatures, aren't they?

All of this nature around me makes me think of this old hymn:

1 This is my Father's world,

And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world:

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--

His hand the wonders wrought.

2 This is my Father's world:

The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, 

the lily white,

Declare their Maker's praise.

This is my Father's world:

He shines in all that's fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,

He speaks to me everywhere.

3 This is my Father's world:

O let me ne'er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father's world:

Why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!

God reigns; let earth be glad!

Amen.

Hope you are having a blessed and beautiful Holy/Easter Week.  

Monday Monday...Stormy Skies and Pleasant Days

Stormy Skies!  These photos were actually taken yesterday evening. We thought we'd go take a walk, but didn't realize how stormy the skies were until we got to our walking place.  So we hurried up and walked fast and got back in the car just before the lightning and thunder started and then the rains came.

I thought you'd enjoy seeing the storm clouds from a distance:

Aren't they amazing?  Now today, we are actually having a lot of rain again. 

Here's the view on Still Waters Pond:

Not too long ago it was very dry where all those tall grasses are now.

But the waters have come back up quite nicely with all the rain we've been having.

The pond looks quite healthy again. Of course, there are still too many lily pads, but not much I can do about that. It's still beautiful in its own way.

And guess who came to visit us today?  Yes!  The whole Sand Hill Crane family came back for a nice little visit!

We had not seen the whole family in about a month, and I was beginning to worry about them, but today they all showed up and stayed awhile. They must like whatever is growing there in the tall, wet grasses along the shore of the pond.

Look how big Pat and Val have gotten!  They still don't have their red caps on their heads yet, but it won't be long, I'm sure.

And the Bluebirds seem to be coming and going these days. I hadn't seen them for a couple of days and so I was beginning to think they had given up on nesting again, perhaps because it had been so hot.

But they showed up again this morning and checked everything out and acted like they were still building the nest...but this fella doesn't really look very happy:

What do you think? LOL.

And then there is the "battle of the hummingbirds" going on! Oh my goodness, I wish you could watch them in action!

These are just two of them, but there are at least four, and they are constantly fighting for first place at the bird feeder.  They zoom in and out like fighter jets, chasing each other out of the way...

But then they call "truce" for a few seconds and give each other a chance to get a drink, before zooming away again, only to return in another few minutes.  It's quite a show!

Speaking of "quite a show"...we bought a couple of new rugs for our two sweet grandpuppies, and put their little toy balls on the rugs to see what they would do. They immediately ran to the rugs and started playing

And then they wrestled over the rugs and had them all bunched up and rolled up in them and had a good old time.

But finally settled down and just relaxed and enjoyed having a new rug to lay on. Yes, one rug is smaller than the other because they came in a set like that, but they really didn't care. They were happy.

Someone said last week that I should let Sugar and Spice have their own blog to tell about their adventures. Well...that might be pushing it a bit. We'll just share their fun whenever we can. I should talk my son or DIL into writing a blog for them. They are the ones who get to see their adventures the most. I mean, they just took a big trip across the country and back and had all kinds of fun, while we sat here and sweltered in the sunny south. LOL. 

But anyway, moving right along...

Yesterday, (Sunday), was an interesting day. Saturday afternoon we received a call from our Pastor's wife asking if my hubby would be able to preach on Sunday, as the Pastor was sick with a tummy virus. Hubby was more than happy to be able to do that for him.  As a retired preacher, he has lots of sermons still floating around in his head, and with the help of the Holy Spirit he was able to preach a wonderful message yesterday morning. It was such a blessing to see that even at our "great age", God is still able to use us for His honor and glory as needed. 

I remember these words were preached at my husband's ordination service, about 45 years ago:

2 Timothy 4:1-5

1 "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

This picture was taken of us at his ordination service, as these men of God laid hands on us and prayed and anointed my husband for service in the ministry.  45 years ago is a long time, and we've been a lot of places and he's preached many a sermon, but God's blessing and gift is still there, alive and well. Praise God!! So very thankful to God for His blessings.

Well, dear friends, I need to wrap this up. Monday is almost over and soon it will be time for the Tuesday 4 'meme', which I hope to participate in tomorrow, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise!" If it keeps raining, I may have to think about that old saying. I see where some places up north are really and truly having serious flooding issues. I don't know if any of our blogging friends live in those places, but if so, you are in our thoughts and prayers. Praying you are safe and "high and dry".  

Good Night!!